- Immigrant Times
- Dec 22, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Venezuelan immigrants contribute billions to the economies of their host countries
Migration from Venezuela has generated billions in tax revenue, consumption and investment across Latin America and the Caribbean, challenging myths about immigrants as an economic burden.
A review of the IOM report ‘Análisis de la contribución fiscal y económica de la migración venezolana: una aproximación regional’ by The Immigrant Times
Venezuelan immigrants have started businesses in many Latin American and Caribbean countries, including Colombia, Peru and Panama (Photos: IOM)
December 2025: Venezuelan refugees and immigrants are making substantial economic and fiscal contributions to the countries that have received them across Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new regional analysis by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) *.
The report, published in Spanish under the title ‘Análisis de la contribución fiscal y económica de la migración venezolana: una aproximación regional’, examines the economic impact of Venezuelan migration in eight host countries: Colombia, Peru, Chile, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Aruba.
Together, these countries host millions of Venezuelans, reflecting the extraordinary scale of displacement from a country that has lost a significant share of its population over the past decade.
Some eight million Venezuelans live outside their country
According to UN agencies coordinating the regional response, nearly eight million Venezuelans are currently living outside their country, making this one of the largest displacement crises in the world today. Around 85 per cent are hosted in Latin America and the Caribbean, placing the greatest responsibility and opportunity on neighbouring states.
The largest host countries include:
• Colombia, with close to 2.9 million Venezuelans
• Peru, hosting around 1.5 to 1.6 million
• Chile, with between 450,000 and 650,000
• Ecuador, home to roughly 450,000
• Brazil, hosting more than 500,000
Smaller but still significant Venezuelan communities are found in Panama, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Caribbean states such as Aruba, all of which are covered in the IOM study.
Beyond the region, Venezuelan migration has become increasingly global. The United States hosts several hundred thousand Venezuelans, many arriving in recent years, while Spain has emerged as the main European destination, with well over 200,000 Venezuelan residents. Mexico, Argentina and other countries also host sizeable communities.
This vast outflow has reshaped Venezuela’s demographics, and, as the IOM report shows, has also become a major economic factor in host countries.
Venezuelan immigrants contribute billions to their host countries
The IOM analysis finds that Venezuelan migrants generate more than US$10.6 billion annually in consumption across the eight countries studied. This spending supports local economies, particularly in housing, food, transport and services, with knock-on effects throughout domestic supply chains.
Fiscal contributions are equally striking. Venezuelan immigrants pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year in direct and indirect taxes:
• In Colombia, tax contributions linked to Venezuelan migration are estimated at around US$529 million, accounting for nearly two per cent of personal income tax revenue.
• In Peru, migrants contribute approximately US$526 million annually, equivalent to 1.35 per cent of total tax revenue and about 0.23 per cent of GDP.
• In Chile, contributions are estimated at US$409 million.
• In Panama, Venezuelan migrants contribute roughly US$203 million, representing more than four per cent of total tax revenue, one of the highest proportional impacts in the region.
Even in smaller economies such as Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Aruba, Venezuelan migration produces measurable fiscal gains, underlining the regional breadth of the impact.
Venezuelan immigrants start businesses and create jobs
Beyond taxes and consumption, the report highlights strong entrepreneurial activity among Venezuelan migrants. Panama stands out: Venezuelan-led businesses have mobilised more than US$1.8 billion in investment and are estimated to have created nearly 40,000 jobs.
In the Dominican Republic, Venezuelan investment has generated around US$180 million and thousands of jobs, reinforcing the finding that migrants are not only workers but also employers and investors.
“These figures challenge the narrative that migrants are a fiscal burden,” the IOM notes, arguing instead that migration can act as a driver of growth when people are allowed to work, invest and integrate.
Informal economies
Despite these gains, the report also highlights a major constraint: informal employment. In several host countries, a large share of Venezuelan migrants work outside the formal economy due to legal, administrative and professional barriers.
Highly skilled migrants are particularly affected. The IOM estimates that fewer than one in ten Venezuelan professionals in the region are employed in roles that match their qualifications, largely because of difficulties in recognising diplomas and professional credentials.
The economic cost of this underutilisation is significant. In Peru alone, the report suggests that improved regularisation and labour-market access could increase Venezuelan migrants’ fiscal contributions by more than 50 per cent.
Fazit
A central message of the report is that policy choices have a significant impact. Countries that have invested in regularisation programmes, work permits and access to social security tend to see stronger economic returns from migration. Where migrants remain undocumented, contributions continue, but largely outside official systems.
The IOM urges governments to expand legal pathways, simplify residency procedures and reduce barriers to formal employment. Doing so, it argues, would benefit host economies facing labour shortages and ageing populations, while allowing migrants to contribute fully and visibly.
* The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations-related organisation working in the field of migration. The organisation implements operational assistance programmes for migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
Further reading: Venezuela's diaspora celebrates fall of President Maduro || Chile's new hard line on immigration || Remtttances from US-based immigrants || Immigration in South America ||
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